Human rights chief meets Swiss: Swiss envoy meets human rights chief in Seoul: Swiss Ambassador to Korea Linus von Castelmur, right, and Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs State Secretary Pascale Baeriswyl, second from right, listen to National Human Rights Commission Chairman Lee Sung-ho, left, during their visit to the commission in central Seoul, March 8. The meeting took place two days after the EU delegation organized a seminar for positive media reporting on human rights of disabled people on the occasion of the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympics. / Yonhap

Bareun Party Chairman Yoo Seong-min, left, and People’s Party Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo take part in a joint committee meeting to discuss the two parties' merger, Friday. The committee decided to name the merged entity the Mirae Party (mirae means “future” in Korean). / Yonhap

Patriots and Veterans Affairs Minister Pi Woo-jin, center drops the puck at a hockey game between Korean andCanadian teams, dubbed the “2018 Imjin Classic,” at Yulgok Wetland Park in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. The name of the event refers to the Imjin River where soldiers from Canada played hockey on the frozen river during the Korean War. The event was organized to promote the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. / Yonhap

New Woori Bank CEO Sohn Tae-seung speaks during his inauguration ceremony at the bank’s headquarters in Seoul, Friday. He is the 51st chief of the lender, succeeding Lee Kwang-goo. / Courtesy of Woori Bank

Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Park Yong-maan, right, and Rep. Hong Young-pyo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea who currently chairs the National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee, are tight-lipped during a meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday. Park said businesses agreed to accept the consensus of lawmakers on a gradual and flexible reduction of working hours from 68 to 52 hours, ahead of the minimum wage hike next year. While several hardliners are opposed to the move, Park urged lawmakers to pass the bill regarding the working hour reduction as soon as possible, during his sixth visit to the National Assembly this year. / Yonhap

A worker at KEB Hana Bank’s anti-counterfeit center inspects U.S. dollar bills at the financial institution’s headquarters in Seoul, Tuesday. Korea’s foreign exchange reserves reached $387.25 billion as of the end of November, which is the highest in history, according to the Bank of Korea. / Yonhap

Kwangdong Pharmaceutical Vice Chairman and CEO Choi Sung-won, left, poses with Oh Kyung-soo, CEO of Jeju Provincial Development Co., after renewing a contract on the distribution of SamDaSoo, the country’s most popular bottled water, at the Sheraton Seoul Palace Gangnam Hotel, Thursday. Under the contract, Kwangdong will distribute SamDaSoo, produced by the development corporation, to retail stores throughout the country, except Jeju Island, for four years until December 2021. Kwangdong has been distributing the bottled water since 2012./ Courtesy of Kwangdong Pharmaceutical

An eye doctor examines an elderly patient at a medical facility in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, Saturday. In cooperation with Vision Care, POSCO Daewoo, POSCO's trading and resource development arm, organized the volunteer program from March 9-17, for people suffering from eye-related ailments in the central Asian country. / Courtesy of POSCO Daewoo

Hanwha Group employees and children from multiracial families raise their fists, during the ice hockey semifinal between South Korea and Canada at the Gangneung Hockey Centre during the Paralympic Winter Games in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, Thursday. The conglomerate said it invited 50 multiracial families to the event. / Courtesy of Hanwha Group

Samsung SDI employees showcase its new lineup of lithium-ion battery cells for energy storage system (ESS) solutions at the Energy Storage Europe 2018 held in Dusseldorf, Germany, Wednesday. The capacity of its new ESS battery cell has been enhanced to 111Ah. / Courtesy of Samsung SDI

Models pose with Kia Motors’ upgraded Carnival minivan at the carmaker’s showroom in Seoul, Tuesday. The new Carnival featuring an eight-speed gearbox that improves fuel efficiency is available here at the price range of 29 million won ($27,000) to 39 million won. / Courtesy of Kia Motors

Korea’s delegation to the PyeongChang Olympic Games bow during “charye,” a ritual ceremony held on Lunar New Year’s Day, at the Team Korea House in Gangneung Olympic Park, Gangwon Province, Friday. / Yonhap

Min Byoung-chul, chairman of the Sunfull Foundation, speaks during an event to deliver the PyeongChang Joint Statement for Peace, wishing for Peace on the Korean Peninsula and the successful hosting of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Monday. Tim Wright, second from left, and Tilman Ruff, fourth from left, respectively representing the 2017 and 1985 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), also participated in the event. They are visiting Korea to announce a message for peace ahead of the Games. / Courtesy of Sunfull Movement

The Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin, left, answers questions after receiving the special prize during the 2017 Cho-A Pharmaceutical Awards for professional baseball players at Seoul Plaza Hotel, Wednesday. Former Samsung Lions slugger Lee Seung-yuop, right, was also honored during the ceremony. The pharmaceutical company presented awards for players in 17 categories, including Pitcher of the Year, during the ceremony. / Yonhap

Participants in the 470th Turtle Marathon pose at the Suwon Hwaseong Fortress after finishing the walkathon, Saturday. The Hankook Ilbo, a sister paper of The Korea Times, hosted the monthly event. Participants included Hankook Ilbo President Lee Jun-hee, fourth from right, Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-young, sixth from right, and Kim Jin-kwan, chairman of the Suwon City Council, left. / Korea Times photo by Shin Sang-soon

Venerable Seol Jeong receives a bouquet of flowers after being elected 35th executive chief of the Buddhist Jogye Order at the Jogye Temple, Wednesday. Ven. Seol, 75, received 234 votes out of 319 in the election held last month. He will lead the order for the next four years. / Yonhap

Participants of the Korea CQ Forum, hosted by the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI), pose after hearing a lecture by Lee Ho-soo, the president of SK Telecom’s ICT strategy department, on the topic “ICT Issues in 2017” at the residence of Danish Ambassador to Korea Thomas Lehmann. From bottom left are Chairman of DI Corporation Park Won-ho, the spouse of Turkish Ambassador Pinar Okcal; President of CICI Choi Jung-wha; Lee; and the Danish Ambassador. / Courtesy of CICI

Simon Lee, CEO of Flitto, gave a lecture on the future of translation using mobile platform and web online at the Korea CQ forum hosted by Corea Image Communication Institute at Flitto building in Samseong-dong, Seoul, Tuesday. Participants included Chevron Korea Chairman Bill Miner, left in the back row, Turkish Ambassador to Korea Arslan Hakan Okcal, third from left in the back row, Lee, fourth from left in the back row and The Korea Times CEO Lee Chang-sup, right in the back row. CICI President Choi Jung-wha is seen fourth from left in the front row. / Courtesy of CICI

A woman and her son look at drawings by Mexican illustrator Louis San Vicente at the 2017 Taipei International Book Exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan, Thursday. The annual Taipei book fair is held at the Taipei International Trade Center from Wednesday to Monday. / EPA-Yonhap

Miss Korea 2017 winner Seo Jae-won, 21, smiles after her victory in the annual beauty pageant at the Universal Arts Center, in Neung-dong, Seoul, Friday. The annual contest was hosted by the Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times / Korea Times photo by Koh Young-kwon

Pianist Sunwoo Yekwon won the Gold Medal in the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday. The 28-year old became the first South Korean to win the Van Cliburn’s Winner’s Cup since the competition was first held in 1962. He performed Dvorak’s Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81 and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 in his final rounds of the competition. Kenneth Brosberg, 23, and Daniel Hsu 19, from the U.S. took the Silver and Bronze Medals. / Yonhap

British director Gareth Edwards, right, stands with Mexican actor Diego Luna, left, and British actress Felicity Jones during a press conference for the film “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” in Tokyo, Wednesday. The film will be released in movie theaters across Japan, Dec. 16. / EPA-Yonhap